Pittsburgh Pirates vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Pick and Preview, September 3 (9/3): MLB

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction, Pick and Preview, September 3 (9/3): MLB

Credit: photo by John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time 6:35 p.m. EST
Pirates money line +134
Pirates run line +1.5 (-120)
Blue Jays money line -160
Blue Jays run line -1.5 (+100)
Over / under 8

 

Key stats

  Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays
Record 49-82 71-59
Home / road record 26-37 33-30
Last 10 record 2-8 6-4
Streak L2 W1
Over / under record 59-64-8 66-61-3
Runs / game 3.56 4.66
Runs allowed / game 5.13 4.27

 

Preview

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates will play the 2nd game of the series at the PNC Park on Saturday. The Blue Jays took the win 4-0 in the first game of the series.  Alek Manoah pitched shutout ball into the eighth inning and Bo Bichette homered.

 

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates get to this game with a 49-82 record and have lost 8 of their last 10 games. The team is averaging 3.56 runs per game. They're batting for .221 AVG, 463 runs scored in 940 hits and 128 home runs, ranking #28 in offense in the league behind the Washington Nationals. Bryan Reynolds leads the team in home runs with 21, 48 RBI and batting for an average of .251.

Defensively they are allowing 5.13 runs per game and ranking #27 in the league. JT Brubaker leads the pitching staff with a 4.39 ERA, 132 strikeouts and 3 wins with the Pirates.

Probable Pitcher:

Roansy Contreras (3-4, 3.57 ERA) will be on the mound for the Pirates in the 2nd game of the series. Contreras earned the win Sunday, allowing no runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over five innings against the Phillies. He hasn't pitched against the Blue Jays in his career.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays get here with a 71-59 record and have won 3 of their last 4 games. The team is averaging 4.66 runs per game and they're batting for .261 AVG, have 600 runs scored in 1146 hits and 158 home runs, ranking #7 in offense in the league behind the Philadelphia Phillies. Vladimir Guerrero Jr leads the team with .285 ERA, 80 RBI and 27 home runs. Alejandro Kirk is batting for .302 AVG.

Defensively as they are allowing 4.27 runs per game and rank #16 in the league. All-Star Alek Manoah leads the team with a 2.60 ERA and 147 strikeouts recording 12 wins for the Jays.

Probable Pitcher:

Trevor Richards (3-1, 3.53 ERA) will be on the mound for the Blue Jays in the 2nd game of the series. Richards hasn't made a start since 2020 and hasn't lasted very long in any of his relief appearances this season, so it seems likely that he'll be used as an opener during Saturday's matchup. He has a 1-1 record with an ERA of 3.07 and 8 strikeouts in 4 appearances against the Pirates in his career.

 

BETTING TRENDS

Toronto are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against Pittsburgh.

Toronto are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games on the road.

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh are 2-10 SU in their last 12 games.

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games against Toronto.

Pittsburgh are 0-6 SU in their last 6 games at home.

 

Prediction

The Pirates have been awful lately losing 8 of their last 10 games and have scored only 1 run in the last 2 games. For this game they'll send Roansy Contreras to the mound who's having a good season and has allowed 2 runs in his last 12 innings pitched. Trevor Richards will start for the Blue Jays who will make his first start of the season as he has been working from the bullpen. Contreras is capable of keeping this game close but with the Pirates struggling offensively I think the best play is the under.

PICK: Under 8 (-110)

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